Recall and impeachment procedure

Recall and removal procedure

Purpose

This procedure lets members end the mandate of an office-holder before the term expires. It provides two separate routes: a political recall, in which members decide whether they still have confidence in the office-holder, and, from version 1.1, removal for misconduct, in which an independent tribunal decides whether specified wrongdoing has been proved. The two routes must not be confused: recall needs no proof of wrongdoing, and removal does not depend on popularity.

Definitions

• Office-holder: any person elected, selected by lot or appointed to an office listed in the schedule of offices, including members of the council and of standing committees.
• Eligible member: a member entitled to vote in the election or selection to that office on the day a petition is lodged.
• Registrar: the official responsible for the membership roll, who checks signatures.
• Day: a calendar day.

Article 1. Petition

1. Any eligible member may lodge a recall petition with the registrar. The petition names one office-holder and may state reasons in no more than 200 words; reasons are optional.
2. The petition succeeds if, within 60 days of lodging, it is signed by at least 15% of eligible members.
3. The registrar verifies signatures against the membership roll and publishes the count within 10 days of the deadline.

Article 2. Recall vote

1. A recall vote is held between 30 and 60 days after a petition is verified.
2. The ballot asks one question: "Should [name] remain in the office of [office]?"
3. The office-holder is recalled if a majority of votes cast answer no and at least 30% of eligible members take part.
4. The office-holder may publish a statement of up to 500 words, distributed with the official notice of the vote at the polity's expense.

Article 4. Limits

1. No petition may be lodged against an office-holder during the first 120 days of a term or the last 120 days before an ordinary election to the same office.
2. If a recall vote fails, no new petition against the same office-holder may be lodged for 12 months.

Article 5. Removal for misconduct

1. Removal proceedings may be opened by a resolution of two thirds of the council or by a petition of 5% of eligible members that specifies the alleged misconduct.
2. Misconduct means: corruption or undisclosed conflict of interest; serious breach of the charter; abuse of office against a member; persistent failure to perform the duties of office; or conviction of a serious offence.
3. The case is heard by a tribunal of three persons drawn by lot from the roster of independent arbiters, none of whom may have served with or against the office-holder in the previous four years.
4. The office-holder has the right to see the evidence, to be represented, to call witnesses and to reply in writing and in person.
5. The tribunal decides on the balance of probabilities and gives written reasons. If it finds misconduct proved, it may remove the office-holder and may bar them from office for up to five years.
6. Pending the decision, the office-holder stays in office unless the tribunal orders a temporary suspension because evidence or members are at risk.

Article 6. Safeguards against abuse

1. Spending by any person or group on a recall campaign is capped at the cap that applies to an ordinary election for the same office, and every contribution above a small threshold is published within seven days.
2. Signatures may not be paid for per signature.
3. An office-holder may face no more than one recall vote in any 12-month period, whether the petitions come from the same or different groups.
4. Members selected by lot to a deliberative body may not be recalled; they may be removed only for misconduct under Article 5, so that the random sample is not reshaped by organised campaigns.

Article 7. Interim office and successor

1. When the result is certified the deputy, or if none the longest-serving member of the same body, holds the office ad interim for no more than 90 days and may take only decisions that cannot wait.
2. The successor is chosen by the ordinary method. The ballot for the successor is never combined with the recall question, so that a successor cannot win office with a small plurality while the recalled person is excluded from the field.

Article 8. Records and review

The registrar publishes a yearly record of petitions lodged, verified and voted on, with turnout and results. Every five years the assembly reviews the thresholds in Articles 1 and 2 against that record.